Mentoring across the miles

3 Cups initiative connects job seekers

After a nearly two-decade career with Verizon Wireless, Lori Musco was seeking a job that would boomerang her back to Pittsburgh.

Help came through Julie Willoughby, a regional senior manager for customer pickup coordination at FedEx Ground in Kansas City, Kan.

Ms. Musco and Ms. Willoughby have never met in person, but their connecting thread was 3 Cups of Coffee — a mentoring initiative launched in 2014 by the nonprofit Pennsylvania Women Work.

In early 2019, the program added a virtual component so mentors and mentees don’t have to be in the same city.

Ms. Musco, 43, got involved after Verizon offered buyouts last year, and the Cheswick native saw a chance to return to the Pittsburgh area. A family member told her about 3 Cups and she signed up, hoping to get advice on how to brush up her resume and interview skills after working for the same employer for 18 years.

Last spring, the program matched Ms. Musco, who at the time was living in Columbus, Ohio, with Ms. Willoughby, who leads a women’s network at FedEx.

They scheduled a series of meetings using Webex, a video conferencing tool.

“I would’ve loved to have coffee with Lori and meet face to face,” Ms. Willoughby said. “But with video technology, I could be flexible … and schedule in [Lori’s] time zone.”

Since its launch, 3 Cups has paired more than 700 mentees statewide with mentors who provide guidance on job-hunting strategies, resumes, cover letters and interview techniques.

The program was implemented by a Philadelphia